Thommie Walsh, Dancer and Tony Winner, Dies at 57

By CHARLES ISHERWOOD

Published: June 19, 2007

Thommie Walsh, a Tony-winning choreographer who also created the role of Bobby in the original production of ''A Chorus Line,'' died Saturday at his mother's home in Auburn, N.Y. He was 57.

The cause was complications of lymphoma, said his manager, Robert Duva.

As a dance-maker, Mr. Walsh was best known for his collaborations with Tommy Tune, the lanky performer, choreographer and director who was among Broadway's leading figures in the 1980s. Mr. Walsh received his two Tony Awards for choreography for collaborating with Mr. Tune in 1980 on ''A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine'' and in 1983 on ''My One and Only,'' in which Mr. Tune starred.

Mr. Walsh also shared a Tony nomination with Mr. Tune for directing ''My One and Only'' and received a Tony nomination for the choreography of ''Nine,'' directed by Mr. Tune.

Although they first worked together as dancers on Broadway in the show ''Seesaw,'' their choreographic collaboration began on ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,'' directed by Peter Masterson and Mr. Tune and choreographed by Mr. Tune. On that ribald musical comedy, about sex and money in the Lone Star State, Mr. Walsh received his first Broadway dance-making credit, as associate choreographer.

Like many Broadway choreographers, Mr. Walsh began his career as a performer. Born on March 15, 1950, he was taking dancing classes by the age of 5 at the Irma Baker School of Dance in upstate New York. By 1973, he was dancing on Broadway as a member of the chorus, under the name Thomas J. Walsh, in ''Seesaw,'' directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett.

After appearing in one of the more notorious flops of the 1970s, ''Rachael Lily Rosenbloom and Don't You Ever Forget It,'' which closed before it opened on Broadway, Mr. Walsh won the role of Bobby in ''A Chorus Line,'' the landmark musical directed and choreographed by Mr. Bennett, about the lives and loves of the gypsy dancers of Broadway. (Bobby talked about breaking into people's houses to rearrange the furniture.)

Mr. Walsh, who was involved the workshops from which the show was developed, would later express ambivalence about how the dancers were treated during the process. They were persuaded to sign away rights to profits from any merchandising for $1, and ultimately the cast received only 1 percent of the royalties.

Mr. Walsh helped set the record straight about the gestation of the show as a co-author, with Baayork Lee (a fellow original cast member) and the journalist Robert Viagas, of a book about the musical called ''On the Line: The Creation of 'A Chorus Line,' '' published by William Morrow in 1990.

''Basically, we were cheated out of a lot of money,'' Mr. Walsh said in the book. ''People are living in the Hamptons because of 'A Chorus Line.' None of us are.''

''A Chorus Line'' was Mr. Walsh's last Broadway appearance as a performer. He left the company after two years and embarked upon a career as a record promoter while also beginning to choreograph.

Mr. Walsh also directed the Off Broadway musical ''Lucky Stiff'' and provided staging and choreography for nightclub acts and solo spots for performers including Donna McKechnie and Priscilla Lopez (two more alumni of the original cast of ''Chorus Line''), as well as for Chita Rivera, Sandy Duncan and Barbara Cook. He also worked on regional theater productions and in 2001 directed and choreographed the national tour of ''Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,'' starring Ann-Margret and Gary Sandy.

In recent years Mr. Walsh worked as a real estate agent in Manhattan, where he lived.

He is survived by his mother, Ellie Walsh, and a sister, Barbara Walsh.

Photo: Thommie Walsh, right, and Tommy Tune after receiving their Tony Awards for ''A Day in Hollywood/A Night in Ukraine'' in 1980. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)